NBA Development League

Drew Crawford always did have a unique window into NBA life. The son of longtime NBA referee Danny Crawford, Drew Crawford was exposed at an early age to the professional atmosphere. He shot hoops with LeBron James the summer before James jumped from high school to the pros. Crawford himself is at the NBA's doorstep now. Close, though, can still be so far away. Undrafted out of Northwestern, the 2009 Naperville Central graduate was an invite to the Orlando Magic's training camp, then played last season for Orlando's Development League affiliate in Erie, Pa. He joined the Magic's Orlando summer league team earlier this month. Most recently, he played for Toronto in...

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Drew Crawford always did have a unique window into NBA life.
The son of longtime NBA referee Danny Crawford, Drew Crawford was exposed at an early age to the professional atmosphere. He shot hoops with LeBron James the summer before James jumped from...

Drew Crawford always did have a unique window into NBA life.
The son of longtime NBA referee Danny Crawford, Drew Crawford was exposed at an early age to the professional atmosphere. He shot hoops with LeBron James the summer before James jumped from...

Mike Oliver had a theory about the first $3 million Cliff Alexander was going to make.
"As soon as he signs the contract, $2,999,000 will be gone," Alexander's high school coach at Curie said early in 2014.
As a consensus top-five recruit...

Marquis Teague averaged 14.9 points in 44 games with the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA's Development League last season.
That's great for Teague's perseverance but not so much for the Bulls, who hoped the Kentucky product could be a long-term answer at...

The Thunder hired Florida's Billy Donovan as their new coach Thursday, hoping he will help the franchise finally win an NBA championship. “We warmly welcome Billy and his family to Oklahoma City,” team chairman Clayton Bennett said. “He is the perfect fit...

Saturday's victory over the hapless Knicks accomplished two things for the Bulls:
• It made Tom Thibodeau the 11th coach to post at least a .549 winning percentage in his first five full NBA seasons.
• And it quietly continued the Bulls' recent...

The last of Sabrina Watson's three sons to play boys basketball at St. Joseph ended his career with a Class 3A state championship Saturday.
Watson was able to watch from her seat in Section 22 at Carver Arena for both the semifinal and state championship...

Jeff Van Gundy is right: Bulls management has undermined coach Tom Thibodeau.
Van Gundy made that comment and several others while working the Bulls-Mavericks game on ESPN on Friday night, painting a picture of a devious front office.
“They have...

There's a reason coach Tom Thibodeau has cited Pau Gasol's championship experience often.
That experience has come in the form of Gasol's stellar play on the court and with his savvy off it. Perhaps that never was more evident than when Gasol put the...

With each passing year, the ol’ body moves slower, everybody and everything else moves faster, and the realization sets in that while the final chapter has yet to be written in permanent ink, a big part of the writing is on the wall. And so, as we...

In July 2010, the Bulls were preparing to sign Carlos Boozer as a free agent when the Jazz, Boozer's previous team, asked for a favor.
Allow the Jazz to sign-and-trade Boozer, creating a $13 million trade exception they eventually used to acquire Al...

The Phoenix Suns traded forward Anthony Tolliver to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday in exchange for forward Tony Mitchell.Tolliver, 29, has played in 24 games for the Suns this season, averaging 3.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 11.3 minutes. The six-year NBA...

Derrick Rose said he'd likely play Tuesday vs. the Magic as the Bulls begin four games in five nights. The Bulls won in Minnesota 106-105 on Saturday without him, improving to 2-1. Here are three observations:
The days of last season’s sluggish offense...

It’s the first Friday of Bulls’ training camp. And I know where your questions are -- in my inbox. Here’s the first installment of our regular Tribune mailbag.
Q. Will Tom Thibodeau give Nikola Mirotic a legitimate chance to start eventually? Or at least...

Got a decent jumper? You could be a tryout away from playing for Michael Jordan.
The Fort Wayne Mad Ants, an NBA Development League affiliate of Jordan's Charlotte Hornets, the Indiana Pacers and several other teams, will hold open auditions in Chicago....

Saint Xavier's Brad Karp, who finished his collegiate career last spring as the fourth highest scorer in Illinois basketball history, has signed a contract with the Cheshire Phoenix of the British Basketball League.
Karp, a 6-5 wing from Valparaiso,...

Two screws, one foot, zero predictability.
The top of the NBA Draft looked like a sure thing to forecast a week ago (always a dangerous statement), the first few picks a simple lock until Joel Embiid unexpectedly underwent surgery for a stress fracture...

University of North Carolina's academic fraud scandal has turned toward the basketball program with claims made by former star Rashad McCants telling ESPN that he took bogus courses, rarely went to classes and tutors wrote his term papers.
McCants said...

Bobby Simmons casually took a seat on the sideline of Simeon's basketball court Thursday to catch the end of practice, occasionally rising to hug and chat with players and coaches who greeted him.
The former Simeon and DePaul player and 10-year NBA...

New Sacramento Kings assistant Nancy Lieberman recalls a conversation with Pat Riley a couple of years back when she explained to the Miami Heat executive how much she wanted to keep coaching at basketball's highest level. "When I said to him, 'You...